posted on April 29, 2010 01:46:46 PM new
Well it's been 11 years or so for me selling on Ebay,,over 10,000 positive feedbacks but it may be now time to call it quits..Sales in my basic category, collectibles, are worse than bad..So I'm thinking I may be gone..Anyone else out there thinking along the same lines? It's sad that Ebay has made it more and more difficult for the small seller to continue. It used to be fun and rewarding but it's neither anymore..What say you?
posted on April 29, 2010 02:52:08 PM new
Well, if you have another outlet where collectible items are selling well, it only makes sense to leave eBay if they are not selling there.
posted on April 29, 2010 04:25:48 PM new
ebay's attitude: don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out. it is all about the bottom line for ebay. whatever they can do to squeeze a buck out of a seller is what it takes to make money.
i could see charging sellers more if things were better on ebay... but they are not better. they are worse, far worse than just a year or two ago.
posted on April 29, 2010 06:02:40 PM new
If you want to leave - use ebay as best you can before you leave. Use all your items to advertise your website / new site etc.
posted on April 29, 2010 08:52:23 PM new
I feel the same. I've tired of ebay's changing policies (feedback, payment, rules, rating system, etc) that work against the small seller.
posted on April 30, 2010 05:48:07 AM new
take a look at ETSY,it now allows vintage items.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on April 30, 2010 06:48:01 AM new
I'm thinking of leaving also. I am strictly small time - sell collectibles that my husband and I accumulated over the years and have done well for over 10 years on ebay....but the new rules and the disregard for sellers has me just plain tired of the whole thing. My last seven items come off tonight and I think I will take a vacation from eBay and see how I feel in a week or two. By the way I have 100% feedback, 4057 positives, and have been dinged on stars for shipping and handling costs 3 times - this has earned me an "at risk" rating (and I state shipping costs very clearly in each auction). My star rating on shipping is now 4.8. It seems to me that eBay has taken all the fun and excitement and fun out of the process and left it dull, stodgy and fraught with worry. Time for a break I guess.
Jane
posted on May 2, 2010 08:23:01 AM newIf you want to leave - use ebay as best you can before you leave. Use all your items to advertise your website / new site etc.
You can do that, though it'll have a temporary effect at best as Google expires eBay auctions out of its cache.
Better to leave a "signpost" on every AboutMe page you have. Those stick around.
posted on May 2, 2010 04:53:11 PM new
even with all the b.s. ebay dishes out ,i have done well (11 yrs.)until this year ,the dam broke ,and ebay is overloaded,slow traffic ,low bids ,low final values.
part of this is our fault ,we got so good at selling everything,
now everything is worth nothing,
we made to many brownies ,
now there is not enough people, to eat them all.........
posted on May 2, 2010 06:50:58 PM new
there are many reasons for the boom and ultimate downward spiral of eBay, some of which we are responsible for, most are not.
- It used to be impossible to find that one treasure you always sought out. With eBay and the web, virtually everything that seemed rare is readily available. Nostalgic treasure hunting is now "a few clicks" and its yours. Over the years, people found what they wanted, and now the "newness" is gone.
- eBay has made too many changes. Some good for sellers, others good for buyers, still others great for criminals.
- over the last 10 years we have seen a huge increase in stock holder pressure to increase profits. this has led eBay to constantly look at squeezing just a few more cents out of sellers.
- over saturation of just about everything in the world. i remember when there was 1 baseball card company making 1 set per season per sport. now there are many more than 1, and they all have tons of sets per sport per season. there are new sets pouring in week after week. collectors are left wondering what to collect and eventually fall out of collecting.
- economy has taken a dive, and collecting items, buying items in general have suffered. people aren't spending what they used to.
- eBay had made it easy for everyone to sell. amateurs put the pros in a sticky situation because amateurs often mislead buyers, provide poor packing, and eventually chase away buyers b/c of bad experiences.
- eBay has tons of competition, which is a problem. etsy, craigslist, amazon, overstock, and tons of other sites are all attracting sellers looking for a better home to sell from.
- shipping costs have increased, making that $10 item become $18 after shipping costs.
- the reproduction market is killing collectibles.
posted on May 2, 2010 06:59:00 PM new
What do you sell?
Ebay 99 cents listing to stimulate bidding is a joke,I launched over 50 items starting at 99 cents,some ended last night and today,the highest bid is over 9 dollars ,most ended at 99 cents!some ended with no bid.
Yes,we made too many brownies,everyone who wants one will get one,no need to fight over these brownies with a bidding war!
Now my store is a different story,since its inception on March 14,I have sold 87 items,price ranging from 10 to a few hundred dollars.
Me thinks Ebay is tweaking its search engine to favor the higher end store items,what would you rather earn as FVF,a 99 cents item or a 500 dollars item?
As for letting your Ebay bidders know you are leaving,dont hold your breath,they wont miss you,they sign on to Ebay and see zilions of items,out of sight,out of mind,all these years you spent selling on Ebay benefits Ebay,not the Ebay sellers.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2010 04:59:24 AM new
Yes,it depends on what you sell.
If I list a diamond tiara at 99 cents,it could be bidded up to a few hundred dollars but I would lose a few million dollars !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2010 01:52:00 PM new
Good for you !
I have been listing items which in the go go days would have fetched 10-20 dollars,now I am giving them away as 4 for 1 deal!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 4, 2010 12:54:48 AM new
funny you should post this now, i was thinking the same think, it seems like it is getting harder and harder to sell on ebay at least sell something that you can make a profit in. I have been selling on ebay since it started, way back in the days you could make some serious money and i did way back now it seems that everyone wants everything free, and the lower price items you sell the harder it is with these buyers. My high price items i normally never have any problems, but when I start those same items at .99c all the bottom feeders come out and they demand some much more time and effort to make them happy. This is the reason why i stopped selling at .99c that and i got tired of giving away my product since most of the time i never even got back what i had invest in it. So i have been watching this board for many many years and finally had to sign up today just to post my fustration with the state of sales on ebay, might be the hard times people are going through or it may just be all the changes ebay has made in the past couple of years not sure. I guess all we can do is try to adapt, but when the changes come every couple of months it is hard to adapt to the new enviorment. Good luch to all.... I will keep trying until i becomes to much of a hassle which it is getting to that point really quick....
posted on May 4, 2010 11:09:30 AM new
Higher postage costs have pretty much killed selling lower priced items. Used to cost 39 cents to mail a card. Now with delivery confirmation, non-machinable/rigid surcharges, cost to mail the same item is around $1.70. Too many scammer buyers now if you try to avoid delivery conformation. I think buyers take into account shipping fees more than they used to, which affects bidding prices.
posted on May 5, 2010 06:41:20 AM new
Used clothes are a real crap shot on Ebay especially smaller sizes where females want NEW!! I have sold items as favors for my daughters and sisters. The larger sizes go quite well (perhaps the buyers do not want to shop in brick and mortar stores), but the smaller sizes and more trendy items do not.Lots of children's clothes if name brands have still done well for me. But name brands in misses / junior sizes 4. 6. 8 have not.
posted on May 5, 2010 07:38:06 PM new
I look at my sales for the last 30 days. I'm about $400 shy of an average month 3 years ago (eBay was already on the decline, stores weren't in core, store listings with gallery were $.05 per month, auction listings to drive buyers from core to store were $.35 - I needed to list about 300 auctions per week to maintain my store sales). My eBay fees are about $300/month less than an average month 3 years ago. I'm not listing as much now. Pretty much a toss-up. I'm not willing to throw in the towel yet, I'd like to fine tune the auction to fixed price ratio, but with erratic search changes, it's hard to predict.
posted on May 6, 2010 09:34:54 AM new
I have no idea where things are. I have started using more fixed priced listings and have had some success with them. Sales could be fantastic, but I still feel like a sitting duck waiting for the next scammer to take advantage of eBay's loose "Item Not as Described" policy.
What concerns me most isn't accepting a return for an item... but the cost of shipping it being refunded too. Even if it isn't a scammer, it is difficult to swallow a $30+ shipping fee. There are so many factors involved in these dispute claims that pretty much any claim will stick.
I had someone email me about a sofa in our store (saw it on our website). He kept calling it an orange sofa. We don't have an orange sofa. The actual color is mauve. Either he is color blind, or his monitor isn't set properly. If I sold this item on eBay and he received it expecting an orange sofa... do you think he would request a refund and claim Item Not As Described?
It just doesn't take much for a seller to get burned, and it takes less for ebay to be used by a scammer.
posted on May 6, 2010 11:14:57 AM new
There is an article on law graduates who cant find job-one law student in Chicago earned 3k a week working as an intern.
After graduation,he did not receive any offer,so he is now heading back to his parents in San Diego,selling dvd online for a living!
Now if someone gives him a neg feedback,he can use his legal skills to sue that person for 15k.
There are all kinds of way to make money on Ebay!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 6, 2010 11:24:54 AM new
Turn on your TV and tune in to the Greek riots on CNN,hold on to your gold and silver.
Better yet,bid on them on Ebay.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 8, 2010 11:01:58 PM new
The thrill is gone, along with the profits. After 13 years, I stopped 2 months ago. Between the constantly changing rules and fees, lackluster bidding, and sterile environment between buyer/seller...I just can't get motivated to offer anything. I have more productive things to do with my time. If I had any Ebay time, I think I'd have more fun, and make more money, as a buyer. I know that I can make money in the long-run going short Ebay stock until it's 0 + a Paypal spin-off(if you're lucky). The fragile supply/demand balance has tipped too far in favor of the buyer and the Ebay management has their head up their
posted on May 13, 2010 08:55:46 PM new
What's wrong with ebay???? Ever since the Store listings my sales TANKED, and nothing that i try seems to work. I have been on ebay since it started and have always managed to adapt with all the changes. This time i am having a hard time adapting, nothing that i try seems to bring in ANY sales at all... last 2 mths have the the worst months of my ebay life!!!! Anyone else having a hard time like i am? What are you doing to bring in the sales, used to i posted auctions and that would bring in people to my BIN or Store but that is not working anymore even .99c auctions are not working, giving away free stuff one you buy something is not working either ARRRRGGGG.... Don't know what to do to get people to bid or buy anymore..... Please if you have something that is working if you would not mind sharing, i know i am asking to much but really need something to work
posted on May 14, 2010 11:53:22 AM new
the selling period is shrinking. what used to be a virtual 12 month cycle over the years became Memorial Day to Labor Day, now it is late October to December. There are few categories that are strong year round.
posted on May 14, 2010 12:45:30 PM new
Anyone notice that there is little or no ebay advertising lately. At leaset I haven't seen any, except for the IT flyers at the post office and Meg's govenor commercials.
posted on May 14, 2010 05:35:08 PM new
I wonder if Ebay is trying an experiment-separate the auction from the store??
And on low priced auction items,we will pay with fund we deposited in our Paypal account either from our bank account or payments we received from selling something.
This way we dont have to pay transaction fee which comes to 30 cents.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 14, 2010 06:13:28 PM new
here is a letter I found on Ebay seller central-
Dear eBay,
Like a real relationship, sometimes your partner becomes so toxic in their ways you at the very least need to step back and take a break. This is how I feel about the current state of my relationship with you.
I was able to deal with your various misguided and bizarre changes over the years and played by the rules (or so I thought). I treated my customers with respect and provided a quality product at a reasonable price. I kept my DSRs at 4.9 to 5 always. I have remarkable feedback and always did right by my buyers as painful as that may have been on some occasions. They were happy, I was happy. I felt, if I followed the guidelines set out before me I'd at least always have some exposure to interested buyers.
This has now changed. With the latest round of rule changes I have not sold a single item this month. In my small category of Wall Decor Masks (2500 items total in the category) my items are buried on pages 10 and 20 in the so called "best match".
Was it because I closed my store after the new fee changes were announced? Has fate dealt me a cruel hand? Did I do something to upset you? After all, I am among the highest satisfactory rated sellers in my category. All I'm left to ask is why.
I realize the economy is bad and has been for some time. People would rather buy a tank of gas for their car than some mask to hang on the wall. Despite all this, I had always managed to generate some sales. This month, I did not have one due to being buried in the search results. For me, this is the straw that broke the camels back.
We had some good times, eBay. I consistently gave you a nice cut of my profit and you led the buyers to my door. Unfortunately, this has turned in to a one way street where only you take.
Sadly however, it's time to say goodbye, at least for a while. Perhaps one day you will get your act together and we can be reunited once more.
Farewell,
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
